Strathcona Pipes and Drums

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If thy neighbour offend thee, give each of his children bagpipes. -Old Scottish Proverb-

Strathcona’s Pipes and Drums - A little bit of history

By no means are the Strathcona’s a “Scottish Regiment” but we can trace the roots of Scottish tradition through our founder Donald Alexander Smith, born in 1820 at Forres Morayshire in the Scottish highlands. In 1897, Sir Donald Smith was made peer of the realm and chose the title Glencoe, for his Scottish estate. Strathcona is the Gaelic equivalent translation for Glencoe. The Regimental cap badge contains the coat of arms of Lord Strathcona. Within the crest contains the demi-lion rampant, which is the red lion of Scotland, Donald Smith’s native land. Also contained in the cap badge are four Scottish thistles and six shamrocks, depicting the Celtic heritage from where the Regiment was raised. To this day, Lord Strathcona’s great grandson still bears the title, and is living on the Isle of Islay on the west coast of Scotland.

In 1998, WO Paul Peters, under the direction of the Commanding Officer, LCol Craig Hilton, authorized the raising of the Regimental Pipes and Drums. At the time of formation, there were a number of soldiers in the Regiment who were already competent pipers and drummers. These dedicated musicians easily made the transition to come together as a formed band. Shortly after, (then) WO Brian Talty was appointed the first Drum Major. He rose to this challenging task and set out the decision of the bands first uniform, a distinctive dress that mixed our cavalry roots and highland flair.

The first musical appearance of the band was at the home of the former Prime Minister Kim Campbell in California. The band also attended a function for the US Navy at the naval base in San Diego. Since its inception, the Pipes and Drums plays for every Moreuil Wood parade and Men’s Christmas Dinner and continues to play for a number of military and civilian functions.

Celebration 2000 added a new opportunity for the band to be a part of Regimental history. Not only did the band march the Regiment onto the parade, the drums were laid as an altar for the changing of the Guidon ceremony. The band was also present at the laying of the old Guidon at the Alberta Legislative Building. That summer also saw the band head to Ottawa to play for the Century of Service parade held on Parliament Hill. A lone piper played at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Canada’s War Memorial in Ottawa. Additionally, members of the band took part in services in South Africa and Korea to remember our fallen comrades.

The success of the Regimental band continued in 2001. The Officers’ Mess in Suffield donated money to outfit the band for its performance in the Halifax International Tattoo held in Nova Scotia. The band played with the massed Pipes and Drums for the show and individual pipers were selected to play in other acts as well. The following year members of the band played for the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Celebrations in Europe. Under the direction of Pipe Sgt, Sgt Marvin MacNeill, performances were held in Germany, Holland and at Vimy Ridge in France. The Strathcona’s Pipes and Drums are now becoming a regular part of the history of the Regiment, and will carry on this tradition for the years to come.

In 2008, the decision was made to stand the Pipes and Drums down due to the operational commitments of the Regiment. With sending a continuous rotation of tank squadrons for operations in Afghanistan, the band was losing too many soldiers to commit in the Regimental lines. It must be noted that pipers served on almost all the deployments and paid tribute to their fallen comrades during the ramp ceremonies at Kandahar Airfield. 2011 saw the pipes and drums formed once again by the Regimental Pipe Major, WO Marvin MacNeill. The band is performing pipes and drums music for military and civilian functions. The Regimental Pipes and Drums are formed under the authority of the Commanding Officer and the Regimental Society. The Pipes and Drums are an unofficial band of the Canadian Forces, thus no permanent positions for pipers or drummers exist. The band is strictly voluntary and is open to any member of the CF or civilian.

Since 2011, the Strathconas have been extremely busy; from field deployments to maintenance there is not a day that goes by where the soldiers are not busy. In all the busy-ness the Strathcona’s Pipes and Drums thrive. We have a new Pipe-Major, WO Billy Boland who has taken over the role with ease. Sgt Conway Eady has taken over as the Drum-Major and is a natural fit.

The band has definitely been keeping busy with Remembrance Day parades, Canada Day parades and of course Regimental parades. The pipers always volunteer outside of work as well for weddings and funerals. Most recently, we finished the annual parade at Spruce Meadows for the Queen Elizabeth II Cup. In the future, we hope to participate in some Highland games, depending on funding and the availability of the Regiment. Until then, we practice every Thursday afternoon during sports and Monday nights at the Kingsway Legion and hope to recruit new members to keep the pipes and drums alive.

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